The Melting Season

by Celeste Conway

Giselle is a cultured ballet student, the daughter of the famous ballerina Marina Parke-Vanova and the late dance historian Grigori Vanov. On her first-ever trip to "Westchest-ah", as her mother's deranged boyfriend Blitz calls it, she meets the most beautiful boy she's ever seen. Will introduces Giselle to the world beyond Manhattan, and for the first time, makes her feel comfortable outside her perfectly protected apartment on Central Park West. But Giselle has some issues to overcome--and some memories about her father that keep rising to the surface. With Will's help, Giselle must come to terms with her family's glorious--and not so glorious--past and focus on the future.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult Romance, Coming Of Age

273 pages, Hardcover

First published November 14, 2006

About the author

Celeste Conway is a published author of children's books and young adult books. Published credits of Celeste Conway include The Melting Season, Where Is Papa Now?, The Goodbye Time, and When You Open Your Eyes.

Reviews

[Lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love ballet and got this book from the library think I would really like it...Not So.
It was boring and didn't draw me in at all. The characters were annoying and it was hard for me to like any of them. There's a swear word on almost every page, maybe two. No joke! I read one chapter and was done with it. I don't recommend this book to anyone.

[Danielle]

I just couldn't do it. Too boring, too much swearing, too predictable. :P

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't bad, I was interested to find out what exactly Giselle wasn't remembering about her father.

* Giselle lives with her mother (Marina) and her mother's boyfriend (Blitz) in New York. Her mother is a famous ballerina, her father was also a famous ballerina before he died of cancer, and Giselle also dances ballet and is about to perform in a ballet at her ballet school.
* Giselle, Marin and Blitz go shopping for garden supplies and bump into one of the workers - Will, who is roughly the same age as Giselle.
* Will takes Giselle out on a date and they start a relationship.
* Giselle has some memories of her father, but when her mother's friend says some things, Giselle realises that maybe she doesn't remember everything correctly. Eventually her and Marina have a chat and it turns out that it was Marina who was desperate to have a child, not her husband, and that when he got really sick he sometimes hurt Giselle, but was sorry later.
* Giselle dances in the ballet and is amazing and finally starts to feel like herself.

[Katelyn Long]

Had to DNF, got to page 190 and couldn't take it anymore. Author broke the fourth wall in places without any real purpose. Some things were appropriately descriptive that I didn't feel were necessary for the story, other things were inappropriately descriptive like "bulimic-looking girl" or "bench filled with low lives"  that I felt weirded out by and almost offended, and yet there were other things that were not descriptive that just abruptly stopped like "he was " or "and things like that". There was a swear word every other page. I didn't like any of the characters. Giselle is selfish, judgemental, rude, and oblivious. Will is disturbing. Very little dance, a lot of French without explanation. Weird moments in the plot development (Exchange Day what is that?). Avoid at all costs.

[Hannah Gampe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personally, this book wasn’t it for me. I enjoyed the ballet aspect. I wasn’t a fan of the main male character, Will, so that really just put me off on the whole story. There were moments when I felt that Will was toxic: ordering for her, messing up her room when she was clearly very particular about having each item in its exact place, he demanded that if she really liked him she would go to a party and stay at his house when he knew she wasn’t ready for that. I admit he helped Giselle heal and learn the truth, however, I feel like he pushed her too fast especially when he had known her/been in her life for only a matter of weeks and that just turned me off from this altogether.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I was going to read a ballet book. It is really more like an odd little fairy tale. This book is a little strange and a smidge awkward. Yet, I am glad I read it. There is an ominous thread running through the novel and you will try to grasp if it is the imaginings of a sad little ballerina or something more. The answer is worth the journey.

[Bay Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down. Another one from the childhood bookshelf. Obviously given to me because it was about ballet, except that it barely was upon reread. I guess the arc is compelling but the relationship isn't, like not one reason is given why they like each other just that they do. Idk I clearly read it fast but I mostly wanted to remember what happened next and why I read it when I was 12

[maggie mccool · Rating 5 out of 5]

i personally LOVED this book! will and gisele’s relationship was perfect. the right amount of awkward and just perfect moments. as a dancer i now want to take ballet as my main focus more than it already is. this book isn’t for everyone but it was perfect for me.

[Ava Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

That was…certainly something. Or maybe nothing is the right word? 🤔

[Elizabetht · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that The Melting Season was a pretty good book. I didn't find it very suspenseful or exciting, but I could easily relate to it because the main character, Giselle, was a serious dancer, as I am. Giselle was born into a family of prima ballerinas and famous dancers, and was expected to follow in their footsteps. Though she enjoyed her fine arts school and dance classes, she still felt sad that her dad was no longer with them, and that her mom was dating a man, Blitz, that she was not too fond of. Things did start getting interesting though, when Giselle met Will, who she fell in love with. Will started to show her the other side of life, a more carefree, happy side, rather than her uptight, very organized ways. As Giselle loosened up with Will, she began to accept Blitz more and in the end, everything worked out. Giselle starred in her ballet performance beautifully, she and Will were a great couple, and everything worked out in her family! I thought that his ending, though very predictable, was good. It really wrapped up the plot and I loved how well each character was developed in this novel. I really felt that I could sympathize for Giselle and easily relate to her. All in all, I thought that The Melting Season was a good book that was funny and sad, and easily relatable from a dancer's perspective!

[Lea :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was a story that was believable. Sometimes in books, the main character has a beautiful life, or at least things go the way he or she wants them to. This book WAS a little cheesy in some parts but the cheesiness just made it sweet.
In this book, Giselle, is a 16 year- old girl living in New York City. She is a ballet dancer, living with her mother in a giant apartment. Both her parents are/ were famous ballet dancers, but her father died of cancer early in her life. Giselle believes her mother is mainly to blame for her father's misery with his cancer, so she holds a HUGE grudge against her mother. Then she meets Will, a boy whose life is weirdly parallel to her own. Throughout the book Giselle is trying to figure out who she is and what her father was REALLY like.
Celeste Conway is a good writer. Her style of writing gives good imagery. I recommend this book to everyone. You don't have to be a ballet dancer to enjoy it. Anyone can relate to at least some parts of it.

[Khaile]

This book is about how a girl has a life that revolves all around dancing. Her mom sent her father away when he was sick and so the girl, Giselle, never forgave her mom. Eventually she met a boy, Will, who changed her life. She started to seee that there was more to life than dance. She started to loosen up. She was scared though to find out the truth about her father, and how her mother was protecting her and how her life would change, and that she would have to find a way to deal with it. She finally accepted all of those things while still keeping what was dear to her close. She learned how to balance her life.

[Rosiea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.  Ms. Conway took me into the world of  ballet which is completely new to me. Giselle is a strong role model for young girls as she is smart and mature well beyond her years.  She is so in touch with her convictions and doubts, her humanity shines through.  I look forward to reading more from this author.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

so sweet

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book of struggle and romance. not sure what the true plot was because i finished it in deccemeber. but, it was an enjoyable read.

[S · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
and the story had so much potential... >.<
but hey, not bad for the author's first book though! :D

[Brandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ballerina book - okay, not great.